Elegant, yet modest

As the cult of the bungalow continues to thrive in the face of tract-homes and mini-mansions, Jane Powell has emerged as one of the rear-guard movement’s leading authorities. Bungalow restorer Powell’s first-hand knowledge informs her scholarly approach to the glorious simplicity of an architectural style that was supplanted by postwar modernisms but has been rediscovered by historic preservationists like herself.

Her fifth book on the subject presents a celebratory overview of the bungalow’s history as the flowering of 19th century English aesthete William Morris’ aims to bring beautiful design to the common man. Organized in thematic chapters that examine the reactionary style’s practical and philosophical ideas, “Bungalow” includes extensive photographs by collaborator Linda Svendsen.

Some of the most elegant modest homes in America are here, accompanied by the most detailed and literate captions you may ever find in a coffee-table book. Powell is a good writer with a wry sense of humor that underscores an adamant view -- where houses are concerned, the authenticity of the past needs to be saved from the voracious inferiority of the present.

Sean Mitchell